Thursday, September 13, 2012

My Top 10 New Spider-Man Villains from the 1980s

The Hobgoblin (Amazing Spider-Man #238)I've always loved the Hobgoblin as I felt he was my Green Goblin of the 1980s. His storyline that ran through Amazing Spider-Man was great as it kept everyone guessing as to his secret identity.

The Symbiote/Venom (Secret Wars #8)The Symbiote was a nice twist on the new costume gimmick. Eddie Brock was also a great new character, but early in the 90s, Venom's popularity led to some over-exposure which had me disliking the character more and more.

The Puma (Amazing Spider-Man #256)Really liked the calm and collected Thomas Fireheart and the complications that this millionaire added to Spidey and Peter's life. The Puma was a great character and went beyond the native american stereotypes.

The Sin-Eater (Spectacular Spider-Man #107
The Sin-Eater storyline stunned me and the shocking death of Jean DeWolffe was a complete surprise. This four issue story arc made me aware of Peter David for the first time. He did an amazing job fleshing out the Sin-Eater and really getting into his head.

The Rose (Amazing Spider-Man #253)The Rose was a solid addition to the New York mob landscape of the Marvel Universe and his connection to the Kingpin made him that much more powerful and that much more of a threat.

Tombstone (Web of Spider-Man #36)

The Foreigner (Web of Spider-Man #15)

Hydro-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #212)
Hydro-Man was a simple take-off on Sandman, obviously substituting the sand for water. He doesn't really live up to his potential for another few years at which point he joins the Sinister Syndicate.

9 comments:

Like a lot of people, I would guess, I read your title and tried to think of who's going to be on your list before scrolling down and reading it. I got the one-two Hobgoblin/Venom spots easy enough but realized it's pretty slim pickings for the rest of the list. I thought of Spot and Slyde and am glad Spot got on the list (he's got a goofy charm) but seeing Slyde on there (and most of the rest), the street cred really drops off after no. 2 doesn't it?Although I would've picked the Rose if I had remembered him, he's pretty good, and I had thought Hydro Man was from the 70s, he's good too.

Were there any other 80s introductions? I can just think of the Answer, the Arranger, Robotic Silvermane and the Black Fox...the Sinister Syndicate was a cool introduction to the book.

In any event, it's an era of comic books that's fun to reflect on. Keep up the great work!

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